There are millions of farm animals in Quebec. They surround us and feed us, and yet we know very little about their living conditions. After collecting testimonies from producers, animal rights defenders and experts, The duty invites you to discover the life cycle of Quebec’s main farm animals, from their birth to the slaughterhouse, as well as the resulting concerns with regard to animal welfare. Note that all the practices mentioned are authorized by the codes of practice governing animal husbandry in Canada. Today: dairy cows.
The largest producer of cow’s milk in Canada, Quebec supplies more than a third of the country’s milk production. In 2021, some 350,000 cows produced 3.46 billion liters of milk in the province. The cows of three-quarters of the herds live in tie-stalls — that is, they are tied at the neck — when they produce milk. A breeding model that has historically been favored in Quebec, but which is gradually giving way to free stalling, which allows cows to move around in pens located inside barns. A look at the life of a dairy cow in Quebec.
On this December day at Belvache farms, located in Sainte-Anne-des-Plaines in the Laurentians, a calf was born in the morning and then separated from its mother and placed in a nearby pen. From its first hours of life, the calf received a bottle of 4 liters of colostrum – the first milk from its mother, full of antibodies collected during milking.
“The mother’s udder can be covered with excrement,” explains Réal Gauthier, owner of Belvache Farms, adding that the calf could therefore contract fatal diseases if it suckled directly from its mother’s udder. And by giving him a bottle of colostrum, “I will be sure that the calf will take enough”, argues the dairy producer.
A widespread practice on Quebec dairy farms, but which raises the ire of animal rights defenders. “It causes enormous distress to the animals. The calf must be removed from its mother so that it does not drink the milk which must be kept for production”, denounces Me Sophie Gaillard, Acting Director General of the Montreal SPCA. The bellowing of the mother, on this December day at the Belvache farms, is a sad reminder of this.
A complex question, agrees veterinarian Caroline Kilsdonk, who grew up on a dairy farm. “When you remove the calf quickly, you prevent attachment from developing,” she adds. If we leave it with its mother for 24 to 48 hours, an attachment relationship has started, and the cow suffers more. »
A reading shared by Jamie Dallaire, professor specializing in animal behavior and well-being in the Department of Animal Sciences at Laval University. “The level of distress is much higher in the cow and the calf if you separate them after a week rather than after a day,” he says. It is therefore better to separate them from birth or let the weaning happen naturally when the calf is older, he believes. A practice that is gaining popularity in Europe.
Raised in groups
At about ten days old, male calves are sold at auction to be raised as grain-fed calves, milk-fed calves or slaughter steers. Some of the heifers, the females, are also sent to auction. “We keep the daughters of our best producers,” says Réal Gauthier, stroking the muzzles of his Holstein cows.
Breeding is usually done in groups in enclosures that allow some freedom of movement. If some heifers have more than four teats at their udder, these are removed so as not to interfere with milking. Animals are also dehorned.
“If we left the horns on, the cows could hurt each other,” explains Daniel Gobeil, president of Les Producteurs de lait du Québec and dairy producer in La Baie, Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean. Dehorning also gives animals access to their feeder and prevents accidents with workers, he says. To remove the horns, the buds are burned with irons after an analgesic has been injected locally. In order to avoid this procedure, genetic crosses are increasingly practiced to obtain polled cows, that is to say without horns.
At 15 months, the heifers are then inseminated to begin their milk production. Their first calves are born when they are 24 months old. “We then aim for a lactation of around 305 days, followed by a rest period of 60 to 70 days. [avant la prochaine insémination] “says Daniel Gobeil. On average in Quebec, cows complete three lactation cycles before being sent for slaughter to be processed into ground meat.
Genetic improvement
At Belvache farms, the cows produce around 40 liters of milk each day. “Twenty years ago, cows produced 20 to 25 liters a day,” recalls Daniel Gobeil. A strong increase in productivity made possible thanks to genetic improvement: the genes of the most productive cows were crossed with those of bulls having, for example, the best framework to support larger udders. The feeding and care given to the cows have also been improved, explains Réal Gauthier. “We treat them like athletes. »
When a cow is not in good condition, the first thing that goes away is milk production; the cow stops producing.
But for M.e Sophie Gaillard, of the Montreal SPCA, this increased production rate is exhausting the cows. “Genetic selection has made cows more fragile and less resistant, recognizes Caroline Kilsdonk. It’s a bit like when you push a machine to the maximum, there is a risk of more parts breaking. A reading that Daniel Gobeil disputes. The increase in milk production is on the contrary a guarantee of well-being, he says. “When a cow is not in good condition, the first thing that goes away is milk production; the cow stops producing. »
Tied at the neck
The vast majority of lactating cow herds, more than 80%, are raised inside barns (among those with access to pasture are all organic dairy cows).
When cows are lactating, 78% of Quebec dairy farms keep their producers in tie-stalls, i.e. tied to the neck, according to a survey conducted by Lactanet in 2020. A farming method that provides cows with personalized nutrition and individualized care, argue the producers. Currently, less than a quarter of dairy farms therefore allow their cows to move around the barn, “but more than 40% of the milk is produced in this way, since the free-stall herds are larger “says Daniel Gobeil.
At Belvache farms, the cows have been in free stalls and have themselves been milked by a robot since 2006. Gradually, as farm buildings are renovated in Quebec, dairy producers are adopting this model. “All new facilities in Quebec are [désormais] in free stall to give more movement to the animals”, underlines Daniel Gobeil. An evolution that will change the face of dairy production in Quebec in the next few years.
Tomorrow: laying hens